𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 || 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯

   THE HUMMING ENGINE OF THE JEEP FILLED THE AIR. Whatever that was left of New York stood tall and proud with Nova taking in the destruction the pilot only a day ago had created. The city was rebuilding and the people were healing. And truthfully, Nova didn't know where she lay amongst it.

"You wanna talk?" Cooper's soft voice freed her from her thoughts, lifting her head from the window to glance at her co-pilot. His eyes flickering to her and back to the damaged roads.

Looking back out the window, she sighed. "I'm good, Coop."

Her dismissive tone and words had been on repeat from all of yesterday and to the present. Deciding to distance herself from everyone and slowly recover with the doctors that bandaged her up. She wasn't even supposed to be out and about because of her minor concussion. No one tried to speak to her as they didn't know what to say to her. "Thanks" could be in order, but Cooper knew she didn't want to hear that. And for whatever reason, she didn't know why that was the case.

Cooper sighed, following Tony's supercar into Central Park with the others behind them. They stayed silent the entire way there until they all came to a stop. But right before Nova could hop out, Cooper caught her hand. "Listen, I don't know what's going through your mind and I never will," he sighed, "but you can talk to me. I'm always here for you."

She knew he was. She always knew that. But she didn't know how to confide in someone about something he never experienced. About something so terrifying that it left an everlasting impact on one's mind that they couldn't shake. And sure, it could just be that Nova was feeling the after-effects of the fight, but it was more than that.

But she managed a smile, nodding before he gently let her go, hopping out of the Jeep with her. The rest of the Avengers, all walked to a landing that overlooked the rest of the park. Thor holding the Tesseract in a capsule and Loki in cuffs with a mouthpiece, silencing him from spewing whatever bullshit he wanted to say.

Nova watched Leila walk over, speaking hushed words with Thor. A smile appeared on the pair's lips as Thor's hand rested on the woman's side. The moment made Nova smile softly, glad that although things didn't pan out in Leila's favour, she still cared about the man.

"Hey, kid." Nova turned and saw Tony with a smile, taking his sunglasses off. "You did well out there. I know no one else that would've made the decision as you did."

A laugh fell from the girl's lips as she motioned to Steve. "Other than Captain Spandex over there," she commented, earning a laugh from the billionaire. "But thank you, Tony. It means a lot coming from you."

The man sighed, placing an arm around her shoulder and motioning her forward. "So, listen. After seeing what that suit is capable of, I called in a few favours," he started. "I want you to swing by one of our facilities later. I have something waiting for you."

"Is this a job offer, Stark?" She asked, lips twitching into a smirk. "I never thought you would be willing to ask someone for help. Considering your rather big ego that doubles the size of your head and-"

"You better stop speaking or I cancel my offer." Nova laughed, motioning for him to continue. "I want to work with you. Nick told me you made that suit of yours by yourself and the one you used yesterday was made by Martin Usoro, your real father. So, APEX and Stark Industries are working under the same umbrella. And I want your big brain in on the production of the next coming of suits that could help the world."

Nova couldn't help the surprised raise of her brows. One of her heroes was asking her for her help on something that could change the world. Not to mention that her father was also working with the billionaire, giving her a chance to possibly rekindle some relationship with the man.

"Would I still be able to work for S.H.I.E.L.D.?" She inquired.

"I was thinking you would say that." Reaching into his pocket, he handed the girl what seemed to be a card, but the body of it was transparent, resembling a translucent screen. When tapping it, a picture of her face with her name appears. "That is a personal I.D. to any facility you need access to. Drop by anytime. Let me know and I'll swing by and show you what I have in store for the future."

The girl stared at the card before looking up at Tony. Unable to control herself from hugging the man. "Thank you, Tony."

Tony, completely new to this type of affection coming from someone, awkwardly patted her back and smiled. "Don't mention it, kid."

Parting ways, they watched Loki and Thor use the Tesseract, seemingly going back to Asgard with the cube, where it belonged. Leaving the remaining Avengers to part ways, sadly. Cooper was exchanging words with Steve, shaking hands with supersoldier.

Leaving Nova to allow a bittersweet smile to pull across her face, walking towards the Jeep. Although it felt long, the days that she spent with these people were short. But it changed her life forever. Good and bad. Yet, she wouldn't change it if she had a second chance.

"We aren't going to say anything to one another now?" Natasha appeared, stepping into Nova's path, and blocking the girl from the car door. Nova's eyes slightly widened, hands growing clammy at the confrontation from the woman. When she hadn't spoken to anyone during her recovery, that meant everyone, Natasha included. Even when the woman requested to see her, Nova told the doctors to keep her out.

Perhaps it was the confrontation she feared, but it was admitting what she felt in those moments that felt like her last. "I was recovering, Nat," Nova commented. "I didn't want to worry you any more than I already did."

"But you worried me either way with not being able to see you." Natasha grabbed her hands, holding them tightly. But the grip was soft and overly gentle like she was being coddled by the older woman. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That's all."

Nova smiled forcefully. "Well, as you can see, I am alright."

"What happened up there?" Natasha asked, making Nova hold her breath for a moment.

Licking her suddenly dry lips and shrugged, dismissing the question. "I don't know-"

"Nova, you are a terrible liar and we both know that," Natasha interjected, silencing the girl who slightly bowed her head. "You can tell me. You can trust me."

Nova pursed her lips, fighting the tears that started stinging the back of her eyes. Swallowing the lump in her throat, her jaw clenching with a faint shake of her head. "I really hope you aren't the one talking about lies," she muttered. "There is so much shit you haven't told me." Nova laughed, waving toward the older woman with a scoff. "Yet, you talk to me about trust."

Natasha stood there with pursed lips. Eyes watching her friend shake her head again, turning away. "Just leave it alone, Nat. We still got work to do."

She watched Nova not hesitate to walk away, hopping into the Jeep with Coop following closely behind. Giving the assassin an apologetic look before getting into the vehicle and driving away.

a/n: And that's it for the first part of Invincible! A lot longer than Sanctuary's first part, but this took more time editing than actually writing believe it or not. When I first wrote this, it was an exact year ago. I never touched it until finally now. So, I hope you guys enjoyed it and are enjoying the story so far. Even the little bits of Leila and Nova interacting with one another, which I wish I fleshed out more. But no matter, there is still time for it in the future. But now, we go back to Sanctuary where part two will begin for Leila's story in Thor The Dark World.